Teaching Grammar and Writing - Week 8 - Helping Learners Write

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 8 of the course Teaching Grammar and Writing for the Master's in English Teaching at ULACIT in term IC 2023. In this class we will continue our focus on writing by considering how two frameworks from the reading can be used to generate a large variety of activity types for writing instruction. We'll also look at your World Englishes activity and consider how teachers can help students review and express their explicit knowledge of grammar rules. 

Today's Goals:

• Demonstrate the features of your original World Englishes activity.
• Discuss the application of two frameworks to the task of writing instruction.
• Consider strategies to help students develop explicit knowledge of grammar rules. 

Guiding Questions:

• How can the concept of World Englishes influence my approach to grammar instruction?
• How can the Four Strands and the Four Task Types frameworks broaden my repertoire of instructional techniques for writing?
• How can I help students develop explicit knowledge of grammar rules?

Task 1: Activity Type Demo - World Englishes Activity

In this course you will be asked to create sample grammar activities in order to compile a portfolio of grammar activitiy types that describes their basic features, strengths, and challenges. 

• Characteristics: What are the features of a World Englishes activity?
• Example: What activity did you create?
• Strengths: In what ways is the concept of World Englishes potentially beneficial in grammar and writing instruction?
• Challenges: What potential limitations or challenges are associated with the inclusion of World Englishes in the grammar class?

• Additional Considerations: CLICK HERE

Task 2: Reading Response - Helping Learners Write

Let's take a moment to discuss these questions related to your assigned reading for this week.

• Concept Review: Last week we looked at six orientations that have been proposed to describe the ways that L2 writing instruction has been conceptualized. Each has its own focus, method, and potential limitations which means that most teachers will find themselves incorporating multiple orientations in their lessons. Can you remember the focus, method, and limitations of these six orientations?

• Focus on Langauge Structures

• Focus on Text Functions

• Focus on Creative Expression

• Focus on Writing as a Process

• Focus on Content

• Focus on Genre

• Nation's Four Strands: The chapter started with a brief consideration of Nation's Four Strands Model and how it applies to writing instruction.

• What is your overall impression of the four strands model? What is your understanding of the purpose of the model and what each strand refers to?

• Meaning Focused Input

• Meaning Focused Output

• Language Focused Learning

• Fluency Development

• What are some specific ways that the four strands can be applied to the teaching of writing?

• Four Task Types for Language Instruction: On page 95 Nation writes, "These four kinds of tasks are called experience taks, shared tasks, guided tasks, and independent tasks. One way to look at each of these types of tasks is to see their job as dealing with the gap which exists between learners' present knowledge and the demands of the task." Like the four strands, this framework can equally apply to all language skills. What do each of these tasks types refer to and how do they bridge that gap?

• Experience Tasks

• Shared Tasks

• Guided Tasks

• Independent Tasks

• The Four Tasks Applied to Writing: CLICK HERE

• Final Quotes: These quotes from the conclusion of the chapter help summarize the purpose of the two frameworks presented (the four strands and the four task types). What stood out most to you about this chapter?

• "The aim in describing the four kinds of tasks is to make teachers aware of the possible approaches to dealing with the gap between the learners’ knowledge and the knowledge required to do a task, and to make them aware of the very large number of activities that can be made to help learners. When teachers are able to think of a variety of ways of dealing with a problem, they can choose the ones that will work best in their class.”

• “The job of these tasks is to help learners gain mastery over the language, ideas, language skills and types of discourse that are the goals of their study.”

 

Task 3: Is there value in declaritive knowledge?

Last week we looked at World Englishes to introduce the concept of linguistic variety into grammar instruction. Today we will consider strategies to focus on the development of students' knowledge of explicit grammar rules. 

• Example: CLICK HERE
• Completed Example: CLICK HERE

• Reactions: 
• How would you describe the way the document was written and what you were asked to do?
• This document was created for future teachers in a university level grammar course. How do you think an activity like this could be modified for lower level language learners?

References:

Hyland, K. (2003). Second Language Writing. Cambridge University Press.

Nation, I.S.P. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Reading and Writing. Routledge.